The invention relates to a sliding roof for a vehicle, comprising a panel, which in its forward position closes an opening in the fixed roof and which, upon operation of an actuating member, raises its rear edge and is partly displaceable outside the roof opening into positions above the fixed roof, the panel near its front edge being supported by a horizontal cross-shaft of at least one front support, said front support being movable backward and forward in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, whilst at least one cross-pin at the upper end of a lever engages the panel backwards from the front support, said lever being pivotally supported at its lower end for pivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis.
In a known embodiment of a sliding roof of this type the two levers are rigidly interconnected at their lower end by means of an intermediate, pivotally supported, transversely extending connecting rod. The actuating member engages this connecting rod and achieves an angular displacement of this connecting rod for displacing the panel. In order to make it possible to lock the panel in every position, a brake means acts on the connecting rod.
This known sliding roof shows several advantages with respect to another known sliding roof of the kind wherein the panel is first moved downwardly with its rear edge and is subsequently slid underneath the fixed roof in order to be displaced to a wholly or partly opened position. The construction of the first-mentioned sliding roof is simpler and cheaper and this sliding roof can also be applied, if the vehicle only has a short fixed roof portion behind the opening. Furthermore this sliding roof does not cause a loss of height within the vehicle. On the other hand, however, the first-mentioned known sliding roof shows a great disadvantage with respect to sliding roofs wherein the panel is slidable underneath the fixed roof, as even in the rear end position of the panel the portion of the opening which is released by the panel at its front side is only small.